Before & After: Making Ikea Unique

I love Ikea. Everyone loves IKEA. I bet you even people who say they don't love Ikea now and then catch themselves liking something they didn't realize was from there.  Affordable and attractive? What a combo.  The only drawback with there being in Ikea in every town on the planet with a population over 50, is suddenly you start seeing your furniture everywhere.  I don't mind that too much, but I definitely get inspired when I see all the creative things people are doing with Ikea's mass produced wonderfulness.

I subscribe to Ikea Hackers, which is a fantastic blog, so every day an email with 4 or 5 "hacks" comes through, and it's awesome.  Normally it's taking the parts of furniture and making all new pieces with all new purposes, which is great.  But there's something to be said about a simple makeover, so when I saw this one come through, I had to appreciate it's simplicity.

I love them even like that! But that's not all, they took it to the next level with some nice paper:

A basic stool, and some fun colors & papers makes all the difference.  Just think how many different ikea pieces we all have could use a little creativity to make it all your own.  This just reminds me how I've been needing to make the trek and battle the crowds, for some fun (not to mention flat packed!) projects.  Head over to their blog to see more of these stools, it's not in English, but I don't think you really need it to be.  The pictures speak for themselves.  Enjoy!

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New String Art Tablets

I've gotten a lot of string art orders lately, which leaves me with a lot of extra tablets of wood to play with.  I jotted down a few ideas, and started with my favorites.  I Just wanted to take a moment to introduce two new patterns: Sakura & Circular Geometric

There they are! Of course they can be customized to fit different rooms.  I think my favorite of the two is the yellow geometric, it gave me all kinds of ideas for other patterns I want to tackle.  The really rewarding part of making these is stringing them up. The nailing... WOW.. you just feel like it will never end!  But it's all worth it once I get to see the finished product.  I really think these would look great in a set, and in our next house (hopefully soon!) I plan on doing a really large installation of 9 square tablets.  I'm not sure what image to depict yet, but I'm thinking about one image that goes across them all - like a face, or a large scale pattern.  We'll see.  Well thanks for reading, have a great weekend! 

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How To: Sunburst Mirror

Get ready to be amazed! A little while ago I bookmarked a fantastic tutorial from the blog Decorating Cents.  The sunburst style has made a huge comeback over the past few years, and people are getting really clever about making their own.  This mirror really makes a big impact on a wall, and it's amazingly easy. You'll never believe what it's made of either:

Isn't that awesome? I love the wood!  Think of all the different colors you could do. I can't wait to try this.  Here's the big reveal of what it's made of, if you haven't guessed yet..I didn't have a clue!

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Another Cut Canvas

I'm just wrapping up a custom order for my Aunt & Uncle, and thought I'd share the results.  It's a larger version of the tree silhouette, sitting at an impressive 18 x 24.  I'm really happy with the results.  Here it is in white, though I'm about to paint it black as they requested:

What do you think? Each tree is unique, since I hand draw & cut them. No computers!  It's a heavy weight canvas, wrapped with the staples on the back.  I can do this in whatever color you need, just keep in mind that each tree will come out different but very similar.  If you are interested in pre-ordering, here's the link to my etsy.  Thanks!

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Spotlight: Articipe

I came across this Etsy shop the other morning and quickly fell in love. Art + Recipes = Articipes by Erin on Etsy.  Clever! I love the fonts, the colors, and the usefulness!  These would look great on wall and come in really handy.  The best part, Erin will do custom orders, you pick your favorite recipes & colors to match your home. Take a look:

 

These would make a great gift for anyone who loves to cook - or for yourself! Why not? I'm planning on it. The day we decide on the colors for the next kitchen, is the day the order will be placed.  Here's the link to Articipe's shop, go explore.  Enjoy!

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